What is ERC20?

ERC20 refers to the Ethereum token standard, which is used for developing smart contracts on Ethereum. Developed in 2015, ERC20 defines a common set of rules that an Ethereum token has to follow and implement in order to interact with other tokens in the ecosystem, giving developers the ability to program useful new tokens.

The ERC20 standard ensures that Ethereum based tokens perform in a predictable way throughout the ecosystem, ensuring that decentralised applications and smart contracts are interoperable and that all tokens follow a fixed standard of security.

ERC20 is one of multiple Ethereum token standards, but has proven to be the most widely adopted for now.